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CR4D top organs converge in Dakar to endorse five-year Strategic Plan

26 September, 2021

Dakar, Senegal, 25/September/2021 - A two day joint meeting of the top-organs of the Climate Research for Development in Africa (CR4D) initiative took place this week to review and endorse the implementation plan of its five-year strategy  (2019-2023).

This joint meeting which brought together CR4D’s expert members of the Scientific Advisory Committee (SAC) and the Institutional Collaborative Platform (ICP) took place this week in the coastal city of Dakar, the capital of Senegal.  

CR4D was launched in 2015 to strengthen links between climate change science research and climate information needs in support of development planning in Africa. The CR4D initiative is implemented through a partnership bringing together the African Climate Policy Centre (ACPC) of the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), the African Ministerial Conference on Meteorology (AMCOMET), the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and the Global Framework for Climate Services (GFCS).

According to Yosef Amha, a researcher at ACPC, the main outcome of the joint two-day meeting will be the endorsement of the five-year implementation plan.

Since its launch the CR4D initiative has served as a convergence roundtable bringing together scientists, practitioners, institutions and development actors to deliver and continuously improve accessibility and quality of end-user priority climate information needs. According to Mr Amha, CR4D represents an African-centred demand-driven shift in dealing with climate change and development on the continent.  CR4D also plays a critical role in mobilizing African climate change researchers around a unified user-driven climate research agenda to tackle emerging concerns that directly addresses the priority climate information needs of policymakers and vulnerable communities.

James Murombedzi, the head of ACPC, presided over the joint meeting. It is significant to note that the ACPC serves as the Secretariat of the CR4D Initiative and spearheaded in the development of the five years Strategic Programme 2019-2023. This was undertaken with the aim of maximizing the opportunities presented by climate variability and tackling the challenges posed to the socioeconomic development efforts of Africa.

According to Mr. Murombedzi, the Strategic programme outlines the directions and priorities to catalyze a comprehensive pan-African multidisciplinary climate research that is responsive to specific users and the development planning needs at the local, national, regional and continental levels. The CR4D work programme strategy has been instrumental in creating a platform through interactive and collaborative approaches uniting climate science, services and policymaking under a coordinated network of expertise and institutions in the continent.

Prof Amadou Gaye who chairs the SAC and Dr Amos Makarau who heads the Oversight Board of the CR4D governing structure graced the meeting.

Professor Gaye led discussion on proposed projects under Knowledge Frontier One covering Foundational Climate Science, while Dr Joseph Mukabana of the WMO chaired discussion on proposed projects under the Knowledge Frontier Two which specializes on Impact, information, translation and communication. Dr Frank Rutabingwa of the ACPC set the stage by providing a progress update on CR4D initiative.

It is significant to note that the two-day joint meeting is in line with the 5-year Implementation plan pursued by the CR4D which is formulated in accordance with the three knowledge frontiers identified in the Programme Strategy document (2019-2023). These are foundational climate science, Impact, information, translation and communication; and engagement with policy, development and decision-making communities. The strategy document has also identified research thematic areas falling under each knowledge frontier, alongside proposed projects and the corresponding budgets.

According to Mr Amha, the two-day meeting gave the CR4D initiative the impetus needed to pursue its primary goal of sustainably bolstering the capacity of an interdisciplinary cohort of African climate scientists and practitioners through cross-regional exchanges as well as partnerships, fellowships and secondments.

Further information on CR4D is available at: www.uneca.org/cr4d